The US mutual fund industry’s best attempts at innovation have fallen flat in recent years due to a hairy mix of factors ranging from changes in how funds are distributed to the simple fact that many new products have failed to deliver their promised returns.

Compounding the lacklustre output is the industry’s maturity level. With all the major asset classes already chock full of choices, there is little room for more products on shelves that are stocked with 7,044 mutual funds.